SaaS MVP Development: Project Management Platform for Creative Teams

The founding team had deep domain expertise in creative agency workflows but needed to validate their vision for a visual-first project management tool tailored to designers, videographers, and creative teams. Existing tools like Asana and Monday.com were too generic, lacking features like visual asset review, version control for creative files, and client collaboration portals. They had 14 weeks to launch an MVP before their runway ended, needing to balance speed with quality.

Key MVP requirements included: visual kanban boards with image thumbnails, in-context commenting on design mockups and videos, version control for creative assets, client review portals with approval workflows, time tracking integrated into project views, and seamless file management with Dropbox/Google Drive integration. The product needed to be intuitive enough for non-technical creatives while handling complex multi-stakeholder approval processes.

We ran a 2-week design sprint with the founders, interviewing 25 creative professionals to validate assumptions and prioritize features. Using MoSCoW prioritization, we ruthlessly scoped to core value: visual task management, asset proofing, and client collaboration. Non-essential features like advanced reporting and integrations were deferred to post-launch iterations based on validated learning principles.

The MVP was built using a modern, cost-effective stack: Next.js 14 with TypeScript for the frontend, Supabase for backend (PostgreSQL + Auth + Storage), Tailwind CSS for rapid UI development, and Vercel for hosting. We used Tiptap for rich text editing, Fabric.js for canvas-based annotation, and FFmpeg for video frame extraction. This stack enabled rapid iteration while keeping monthly infrastructure costs under $200.

We launched with a closed beta of 50 hand-picked creative agencies, gathering feedback weekly through user interviews and analytics. Based on learnings, we iterated the UI three times before public launch. The beta phase validated core hypotheses: 84% of beta users said they'd pay for the product, and average session time was 22 minutes (indicating high engagement).

The MVP validated product-market fit for CreativeFlow, attracting 2,800 signups in the first 3 months with 28% free-to-paid conversion. The platform achieved 89% user retention (month-over-month), with customers citing intuitive workflow design and visual-first collaboration as key differentiators. The successful launch led to $2.5M seed funding from prominent VCs and positioned the startup for Series A discussions.